Work Woes, Facebook, Jo Bros, and more

Work has been a little crazy this week. I worked Thursday and Friday. Thursday, I had a patient's family yell at me for something that was due to the stinking Vocera badges we wear. The call lights are programmed to go to the vocera that we wear around our neck. They go to the nurse aides first and then the nurses. It's nice when they work right, but a pain when they don't. The latter occurs more frequently. I have gone to a patient's room, turned the call light off, walked to the med room, back to the patient's room and to the desk before it has rung on my vocera that their light is on. The family of the patient was the one upset about it taking so long to answer the call light. The patient was sticking up for me and Angela, the nurse tech, saying that we have been right in there all night. The other nurses were like, "I heard you failed the test." It was a trying night.

Then Friday, I had a vent patient. Yep, a vent patient on the medical oncology floor. We weren't supposed to have it, but we did. Dr. Judy (the CCU doctor) only wanted him to be on it a few hours, but once we got him on, we couldn't get him off. That is not uncommon. That night, our team shined. Yes, it was very stressful for me because I was doing a one on one with this patient (and had four other patients to boot!), but the other nurses and aides stepped up and did what was needed for my other patients. I was proud to be a member of the medical oncology team that night!! They are truly an awesome bunch! (I always knew that, but it was reinforced Friday night!) Then, after transferring that patient to ICU where he belonged, I got floated to Cardiac Telemetry. Another stressful night!

Friday morning, I started feeling not well. My voice started to crack when I was giving report. I just chalked it up to being really tired after that night's events and hoped that the next night would be better. (No such luck!) Midway through Saturday morning (around 3 a.m.), I started to lose my voice. My throat didn't hurt, but I just didn't feel well. Well, my voice is almost gone and I have congestion in my head, sore throat. I just hope I feel better by Monday night because I have to work Monday and Tuesday!

We are planning on going to Deer Forest on Thursday with all my nieces and nephews. It is a local place that has animals, carnival rides, a train and some other things that would be fun for the kids. I hope I feel better and the weather holds up. :) Other than that, I have to work the holiday, so I really don't have any plans for that. We always have our family party on the 4th, (which I will miss).

I bought tickets for Alex, Ilana, Isabel, Jamie and me to go to Columbus, Ohio to see the Jonas Brothers in concert in August. I am excited about this. Jordin Sparks is supposed to be the opener and we love her too!! The tickets were relatively cheap ($35 each) which made it feasible for me to do so. They don't know it yet, so it's going to be a surprise! We are going to drive to Columbus that morning, stay in a hotel that night after the concert, then drive home the next day. I figure the drive will take 6-7 hours. Quite a drive, but I'm sure the kids will think it is worth it. They got quite a kick out of watching the 3D movie of the JoBros last year.

I must say that I love Facebook! It has allowed me to keep in touch with my relatives and friends much easier than in normal methods. On a regular basis, I can talk to my brother & sister-in-law in Orlando; my cousin in Florida; my friends in Boston; and most recently my relatives in Missouri, whom I "found" on there and haven't been able to find them any other way! My mom, sisters and I have been searching for awhile for them. It's nice to be able to see all my nieces pictures and be able to watch them grow.

I also keep up to date on what is happening with my coworkers and that is nice. We talk about gardening, flowers and things that we just don't have the time to do in passing at work. I spend more time with my coworkers than I do with my family some weeks, so it is nice to see what they are doing. I love Facebook! That is my mantra for the week!

It has been really hot here for June. This photo I took yesterday of our thermometer. Today it is supposed to be even hotter. I am not complaining though. I like the sunshine and the warmth!

This week...

This week has been an interesting one with all the thunderstorms & power outages. My two sisters and my power went out. The only one who had power was my grandmother, meaning if we wanted to shower for work, we had to go there. I was at work when the first thunderstorms hit and the power flashed there and I'm not sure if it was the generator coming on or the power coming back on, but it was scary! I don't like being in the hospital when the power goes out. Scenes from horror movies from my youth come flashing back to me.

I have also been working on some little tweaks with my blog and working on the computer a lot. There isn't much else to do when it is wet outside!

We have some little tomatoes in our garden. I'm so excited! We also have the beginnings of beans, zucchini, and cucumbers. Our fruit trees are still doing well.

I haven't really done much else on my genealogy this week. I'm kinda at a standstill until I get more information. That means either going to Gaylord, MI or Pennsylvania. Neither is a terrible distance, it is just a matter of doing it!

On a lighter note, the sun is shining today. It is in the 80s. Hot, hot, hot. So, I am going to go and enjoy the sun!

I love quotes!

Since I am a lover of quotes, I thought that I would share one:



(If it is too small to read, click on the picture)

A busy few weeks

It's been awhile since I have posted. I have had a busy few weeks. My chemotherapy class is finished! Yeah! I am not certified to give chemo...although I have actually done so yet. :) I also have been working Thursday, Friday and Sunday. That is nice because I know which days I am working, but also stinks because working Sunday night, I have to leave church early to get some sleep before work. At least I get to go to some of it!

I've also been working on my Genealogy. It has been interesting. I went to my grandparents and asked for whatever they had. My grandma has a marriage certificate dating back to 1894. Really cool. Some of it was too big to copy on my printer, so I'm going to have to do that at Kinkos or something. My sister who was named after my great-grandmother Genevieve "Marie." Well, I found out that her middle name wasn't Marie and I am not sure where they got it. Also that she was born in Pennsylvania and not Bangor, MI. My grandpa argued with me until I told him that I got it from HIS birth certificate. Interesting stuff! I have tons to left to do. I want to go back to Corry, PA (where my grandpa is from) to get records and stuff, so that will be exciting. I love looking through my grandparents old things!

Here is a picture that I love of my great-grandmother, Bessie May Rutledge: